What's for Dinner?

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Swirling with, pecans, cinnamon, butter and maple syrup, this decadent creation puffs up like a soufflé in the oven. You and your guests will be inspired to linger over a leisurely morning table with a second mimosa.

We recently baked a loaf of twisted cinnamon bread, which is never better than on the morning it comes out of the oven. Since our Arctic kitchen is quite arid, items left out tend to dry out quickly, which gives us the opportunity to get creative with leftovers.

Overnight French toast is not a new recipe for us. But starting with a base of this wonderful twisted cinnamon bread was new. Soaking the bread overnight in an egg and cream mixture causes the bread to puff up magically during baking. Drizzled with maple syrup and served with a strip of thick bacon this cinnamon loaf French toast was a great way to start a…

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This salad dressing is the closest I’ve had to the Japanese restaurant. It has lots of great taste sensations – garlic, ginger, minced celery, ketchup, soy sauce, lemon juice, vinegar and oil. You can easily tweak this recipe to your liking. My husband couldn’t stop eating it, and even said he could drink it from the bottle. I will be making this again soon!

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Earlier this month, a whole bunch of school children celebrated Read Across America Day. It’s a way for all of us (even the grown ups) to celebrate our love for reading and it coincides with Dr. Seuss’s birthday.

Of course, as I explained here, some of us book lovers have one too many books on our nightstands. There’s no hope in that improving anytime soon.

Isn’t it wonderful to be a reader?

I love transporting myself to far away lands, comprehend what’s behind a character’s motivations or even experience time travel through this recently finished book.

My children love to read too. And, we make semi-regular trips to our local library, buy books through used book stores and spend way more time than we should at our nearest Barnes & Noble (usually with a scone and hot chocolate in hand).

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The worries. The fears. The big question, “Am I doing any of this right?”

I began writing this post several days ago.

And then I stopped.

I have all of these fears of not doing anything right, including the daily moments of mothering my children.

I hate the feeling of am I doing enough?

It’s an ugly voice that creeps inside and can wreck your entire day or your entire sleepless night.

I’ve decided to come up with a list of the things I think I’m doing well and where I’d like to improve. I know I’d like to laugh more with them and scold less. Sort of the “pick my battles” philosophy.

One of the little items that always has me in a tizzy (sp?) is the fact that they’re growing way too fast and of course, that’s out of…

It’s been 50 years since the Buffalo food scene was turned on its head. The chicken wing debuted a half century ago.

Let’s celebrate with a BIG batch of Buffalo Hot Chicken Wings!!!

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 chicken wings

oil for deep-frying

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup FRANK’S hot sauce

1 dash ground black pepper

1 dash garlic powder

Directions

In a small bowl mix together the flour, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. Place chicken wings in a large nonporous glass dish or bowl and sprinkle flour mixture over them until they are evenly coated. Cover dish or bowl and refrigerate for 60 to 90 minutes (do not skip this step).